CHAPTER IV.

THE NOMADIC TRIBES OF THE PLAINS-EVENTS WHICH PRECEDED THE OUTBREAK OF 1868.

N this connection, I desire to contribute a few preliminary historic facts respecting the Plains Indians, for the information of the reader, before proceeding farther into the events which I have to narrate.

The great Indian families that once occupied the entire North American continent have presented, at different times, excellent types of intellectual and moral eminence in the leaders of the powerful coalitions of Indian valor and martial skill frequently formed to repel the aggressions of the white race. Indian history furnishes repeated instances of fierce and sanguinary wars excited by the fears or superstitions of warriors who foresaw the inevitable destiny of their race, had the heroic courage to lift their arms to check the surging wave, and were ready to die in defence of the hunting grounds of their progenitors Against the obstacles thus thrown in the way of civilization and the security of the frontiers, the white settlers continued to spread over the country, the Appalachian chain was soon crossed, and to day, less than three centuries since the establishment of the first white settlement on the shores of America, the remnants only of these primitive Indian families are to be found, confined within the restricted limits of reservations west of the Father of Waters, far remote from the seats of their ancestors.

Still farther west, in the depths of the great plains extending away to the base of the Rocky Mountains, we find a savage people of the same race, but governed by widely different in

stincts and superstitions. Their habits vary from the other representatives of their race who lived along the great rivers of the Atlantic and in the expansive valleys of the western slope of the Alleghanies. These people of the plains are literally nomadic, and in their habits show many points of resemblance to the barbarous hordes that roam over the steppes of Central Asia.

Until within the past few years, these nomads of the great American plains, protected by the vastness and inaccessibility of the country they occupied, experienced no sense of external danger, and pursued their habits of life undisturbed and without fear. The complete seclusion of these primitive people may be judged from the fact that even now little is known of those who first came in contact with the pioneers of civilization, and there are bands at this late day that have never had any direct intercourse whatever with the whites. The aggregate population of the Indian tribes is estimated, or rather computed, at very nearly three hundred thousand souls, of which number a little more than one third dwell upon the great plains.

The census of tribes is either by actual count, upon Indian authority, or by approximation, taken for the convenience of distributing annuities to the Indians having treaty relations with the government. In some cases the census of a band is taken by the Indian chiefs themselves. This they do by requiring the heads of families to furnish a small stick for each human being in the lodge. These sticks are tied in a bundle with a strip of raw-hide, and by the chief handed to the proper government officer. The chiefs always allow a liberal margin, and instances are mentioned where they did not fail to include in their count all the perceptibly prospective progeny of the band, and likewise dropped in a dog or two as an allowance for contingencies.

The feeling of security entertained by the wild inhabitants of the mountains and plains, dissipated by the encroachment of the whites, has naturally conduced to inimical relations between the two races.

The Plains Tribes have, as yet, presented no prominent warriors in the character of leaders. Their mode of living, and the precarious means of obtaining a supply of food at certain seasons, rather indicates the impracticability of ever organizing in large masses, though a confederacy of co-operating tribes would be a possibility, and, under the organizing and authoritative voice of a chief equal to the emergency, would result in a protracted, merciless, and intricate war. The plains are well adapted to the part of border hostilities, and the wild tribes that inhabit them, mounted on fleet and hardy ponies, and familiar with every foot of the monotonous waste around them, would be capable of keeping up a constant annoyance of the frontiers, retiring upon the approach of danger. The success of a campaign, in a country so extensive, would depend entirely upon the co-operation of different columns, and conducted in the winter season, in spite of wind, and rain, and snow. The possibility of such a campaign has been demonstrated in that which I am about to narrate.

In reviewing some facts in Indian affairs during the past two years, it is certain that the prosecution of our interoceanic railways has developed a more determined and restless spirit of opposition than that which existed against the ordinary oldfashioned emigrant trains, and will henceforth demand more enlarged efforts and vigorous measures to secure the peace, quiet, and security of the country on both sides of these great highways. The discoveries of gold and other metals, constantly enlarging our acquaintance with the auriferous regions of the far west, and the presence of government surveying parties, combine to increase this uneasiness.

To avert, if possible, the calamity of an Indian outbreak, during the summer of 1867, Congress authorized the appointment of a Board of Commissioners clothed with ample powers to treat with the Indians manifesting signs of hostility, and to seek, if possible, a practical and peaceable solution of the impending difficulties. This Board was known as the Peace Commission. To avoid all clashing of authority, the operations

of the army, by order of the Executive of the nation, were made to conform to the suggestions and wishes of the Commission. Thus, with every facility open for the accomplishment of the humane wishes of the government, the Commissioners commenced the work before them. The reservation system appeared the most simple and feasible method of solving the question. It was, therefore, proposed to remove the Indians from the routes of travel and settlement, and to maintain them at the expense of the national government. To accomplish this end, it was proposed to lay out two extensive reservations— one to lie north of the State of Nebraska and west of Missouri river; the other, south of the State of Kansas and west of the Arkansas river.

With this theory in mind, and confident of the success of what they considered a plan which the Indian could easily comprehend and would be willing to accept, the Commissioners made their appearance in the Indian country during the month of October following. On the twenty-first day of that month they met many of the chiefs and headmen of the Kiowa and Comanche tribes at the Council Camp on Medicine Lodge creek, seventy miles south of Fort Larned. This creek, a tributary of one of the forks of the Arkansas, was a favorite resort of the Indians on occasions of ceremony, and received its name from the practice of making "medicine" there to serve for good luck in important undertakings.

The council "talk" resulted in a treaty, so called, or agreement, to which all the chiefs and headmen of the two nations present appended their marks, and in return received some tangible evidences of the friendship of the government.

A very brief synopsis of this treaty may not be ill timed, as these documents are entirely novel, except to a limited class of officials, contractors, and speculators, particularly interested in them. The treaty provided for the protection of human life and the punishment of offenders; defined the limits of reservations; encouraged the cultivation of crops; provided for the erection of agency buildings, the transfer of lands, the payment

of bounties, the employment of a physician, farmer, blacksmith, carpenter, engineer, and miller, and for the education of the Indian; defined the annuity articles to be annually distributed as follows: for each male person over fourteen years of age, a suit of good substantial winter clothing, consisting of coat, pantaloons, flannel shirt, hat, and a pair of home-made socks; for each female over twelve years of age, a flannel skirt or the goods necessary to make it, a pair of woolen hose, and twelve yards of "domestics," for boys and girls under the ages named, such flannel and cotton goods as might be needed to make each a suit, as above, together with a pair of woolen hose for each; provided for a census and the necessary appropriations to carry out the provisions of the treaties, and for the issue of hunting permits.

In regard to the security of the railways and settlements, important stipulations were entered into.

At the same time and place, the Apache (Lipan), tribe was confederated with the Kiowas and Comanches, and placed on an equal footing with them in every respect. They agreed to accept the reservation of the Kiowas and Comanches as their own, and pledged themselves to make no settlements outside.

On October twenty-eighth following, at the same place, the Commissioners met the chiefs and headmen of the Cheyennes and Arrapahoes and consummated a "treaty" similar in all respects to the other, presenting only a different reservation.

Having completed their negotiations with the wild tribes of the southern plains, in the following spring the Commissioners proceeded to Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory, and, at that point, arranged a "treaty" with the northern Cheyennes and Arrapahoes. Those Indians agreed to the same terms as determined with the southern bands, and also promised to occupy the northern reservation or join that portion of their people living along the Arkansas.

The main source of the uneasiness felt by the Plains Indians, as displayed in their councils, was the encroachments of the whites upon their hunting grounds. It was with a keen sense